Top-of-the-world views command summit in Connecticut

Indeed, one penthouse currently listed for sale in the Barclay building in West Hartford has an asking price of $1.05 million. The unit has more than 3,300 square feet, including 2,000 square feet of terraces and three bedrooms.

Another penthouse in Bushnell Tower measures 2,200 square feet and has an asking price of $950,000. It was created by combining two smaller units.

John Lepore, a real estate agent with Prudential in West Hartford, said he was pleasantly surprised to find penthouse apartments lavishly designed on the top floor of a handful of buildings in West Hartford. He purchased one in 2002.

"I wanted something different. I had owned a house. I had rented apartments," he said. "The penthouse gave me the size I wanted with the terraces that I needed."

Cohen said he and his wife were not looking for a penthouse when they bought their West Hartford unit four years ago, but immediately saw the possibilities despite the need for renovations and updating.

The home has 14-foot beamed ceilings, a fireplace, built-in dressing tables with marble tops in the master bathroom and a 15-foot walk-in closet.

The couple bought the penthouse for $270,000, but has spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in renovations, Bob Cohen said.